These Julie Garwood novels are normally praised for their sweet explorations of love and romance between mismatched protagonists from diverse backgrounds, with some of the best books in this series including:įor the Roses: Everyone feared the Claybornes.

Best Claybornes’ Brides / Rose Hill Books Claybornes’ Brides / Rose Hill Books into Moviesįor the Roses was adapted into a Hallmark Television movie called Rose Hill in 1997. Claybornes’ Brides / Rose Hill Awardsįor the Roses, the first novel in the Claybornes Brides series won the RT Reviewers Choice Award in 1995. Each installment in the series follows the adventures of a particular member of the Clayborne family.Ĭircumstances always conspire to bring each Clayborne brother into contact with the one woman strong enough to challenge them, at which point they must decide how far they are willing to go, how many sacrifices they are willing to make to achieve true happiness.Īll the Claybornes Brides books are connected, with the various members of the Clayborne clan making brief appearances in one another’s stories.

The Claybornes Brides series is an exploration of the romantic lives of the Clayborne brothers and their adopted sister. They have spent their lives caring for Mary Rose and, in the process, matured into handsome, hardworking men. So they went west and raised Mary as a Lady.īy the tie the Claybornes Brides series picks up in earnest, the Claybornes have become family in every sense of the word. They promised to give Mary Rose every advantage that had been kept from them. Naming the little girl Mary Rose after their mothers, the boys were given new purpose. But then a woman discarded a basket in their alley, and they went to investigate only to discover a baby within. They’ve also grown in strength, becoming a fearsome gang known only as the Claybornes.ĭouglas and his friends thought they knew everything that fate had to offer. But they have survived, slinking away in alleys, hiding under bridges, stealing from the rich, salvaging what they can find from garbage dumps and making the most of a relatively miserable life.ĭespite being so different, their time surviving on the streets has created a bond between the boys. The young boys each lost their place in their families and in society for various reasons. Douglas, Cole, Travis, and Adam are street urchins living in New York City in 1860 when readers first meet them in For the Roses, the first novel in the Claybornes Brides series. The Claybornes Brides series, which began publication in 1995, takes readers back to the 1800s. Even though many a reader came to know Julie Garwood for her contemporary romantic suspense novels, it was her efforts in the genre of historical fiction that first established her career.

The Clayborne Brides by Julie Garwood